Luffy's Mistrust
by Kraiger5
Summary: The crew does something they regret and Luffy decides that it's time for a lesson. Luffy is very OOC in this. One-Shot but I may add another chapter depending on reviews


A/N: I don't own One Piece, Oda does.

"You don't get any food today because we're all sick and tired of you eating everything on our plates. So you get nothing to eat for the rest of the week." Sanji told Luffy with an angry frown on his face. "But it's only Wednesday!" Luffy whined. "So? How is that my problem?' Sanji snarled in return.  
The crew was sitting around the table after eating breakfast and Luffy had woken to find out that his Nakama were apparently tired of him taking all their food even though he only did it to make sure he had the strength necessary to take on anyone who challenges them. He never really wanted to steal from them but Sanji didn't make him enough and Nami wouldn't allow them to spend any more money on food.  
"So I get nothing for over half a week?!" Luffy asked with wide eyes.  
"Yes that's right." Sanji said with a smug grin.  
Luffy sat down in his seat heavily. His Strawhat shaded his eyes from everyone's view and then they all saw he started to shake. Figuring he was just going to start whining about no food they all ignored him until in a voice that dripped with rage; "WELL then, I guess the CAPTAIN of this ship can't do anything when his CREW starts getting all worked up over something, right? I guess you guys will be able to handle anything that gets thrown our way WITHOUT me right?" Luffy asked vehemently. The crew had by now noticed that Luffy wasn't shaking because he wasn't going to eat but was actually shaking out of pure unadulterated anger.  
"What are you talking about?" Nami asked angrily, "You're still going to pull your own weight around here even without food."  
"Oh?" Luffy asked sarcasm oozing from his voice, "And how do you think I'll be able to do that when I'll be too weak to even move by tomorrow night?"  
The crew just stared at him incredulously as they took in this new information.  
"What are you talking about?" Sanji asked after a few moments.  
"Well I can't eat so all of my strength will slowly disappear over today and tomorrow. I tested it once. It takes roughly 2 days for me to lose my power completely." Luffy said without looking up.  
"That's BULLSHIT!" Nami and Sanji shouted.  
"Is it really? Well then, since I won't be too awfully busy for the next 2 days as I try to draw out my strength for as long as I can I should just tell you the truth." Luffy said with a note of anger in his voice. "Do you guys know WHY I eat so much, especially after a hard fight?" Luffy asked.  
The others all looked at each other before they all said no.  
"Well it's for a rather simple reason." Luffy said as if all this talk was just pissing him off more, "I require large amounts of energy to keep my body alive. Without regular influxes of energy my body will begin to shut down far faster than a normal person's. The only reason I take food from you guys is so that I can have the strength necessary to defeat all our enemies before they can harm you. It takes much more for me to keep my metabolism straightened out then it does for other people. But I didn't want to say anything. I was going to keep that a secret but now my hand has been forced." As he was talking Luffy had slowly started standing up until he was at his full height. The crew still couldn't see his eyes but they could all tell that Luffy was absolutely livid at them.  
"So now that you know one of my most closely guarded secrets I believe I am DONE TALKING TO YOU!" Luffy shouted angrily as he punched the wall with enough force to break through it and then pulled his hand out and walked over to the door.  
"I don't ask for much from you guys but still. This just amazes me as to how cruel you can be over some stolen FUCKING FOOD! Huh. I guess I expected too much from you." Luffy shouted as he slammed the door hard enough to rattle the hinges out of the wall slightly.  
The crew just sat there dumbfounded. Not only did he reprimand them but he was actually completely disappointed in them. They could see it in his eyes as he left. He was truly sad that his Nakama thought so little of him.  
"Does that really happen to him if he doesn't eat enough?" Nami asked Chopper.  
"It is possible since his body is composed entirely of rubber down to the subatomic level." Chopper said worriedly, "Because he literally throws his body around during fights, it is completely possible that he would burn through his body's stores of energy far faster then any of us."  
They all looked at each other and realized that the reason Luffy never told them this is because the implications were huge. Without eating every day then Luffy's body would come to an abrupt halt and he would die.  
"We need to apologize right fucking now and let him eat something." Zoro said looking at everyone else. They all nodded in agreement before Zoro stood up and left to go find and talk to Luffy.

After looking around a bit Zoro realized that he wouldn't go anywhere else except for Sunny's head. As he walked up Zoro could feel the anger radiating from his captain as well as hear him mumbling under his breath. "And what does my illustrious First Mate want with his Captain?" Luffy asked sarcastically when he felt Zoro stop behind him. "Perhaps he wants to tell me I'm not supposed to run around anymore? Am I supposed to just sit around like he does and take charge of this ship like a true Captain? Because I do believe I can do that if it is so wished by my glorious crew who are never wrong. Perhaps I should take up the sword too? Learn to cook, navigate and become a doctor as well? Maybe then I wouldn't be such a burden to all of you? Well First Mate Roronoa? What'll it be?"  
All Zoro could do was stand there as hit after hit of verbal punishment came from his captain. "Hell no dumbass, I just wanted to apologize to you for being an asshole!" Zoro shouted angrily.  
Luffy just scoffed in return before he jumped to the main deck and looked at Zoro with hard eyes. "Well Mr. Roronoa I don't believe I should accept that apology just yet. I think you all should reap what you have sown. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to the library to see if I can learn anything about navigation! Need to get a jump start on learning so all of you can be relieved of your duties as quickly as possible." Luffy said over his shoulder as he walked away, leaving a stunned swordsman behind.

The crew all looked up as Zoro walked in and Nami asked "So? How did it go? Did he accept your apology?" Zoro sat down heavily and they all looked at him in surprise as he said, "No, he didn't. Not at fucking all." Sanji looked at Zoro with wide eyes before he asked the question everyone was thinking, "Oi, Marimo, what the hell happened out there?" Zoro looked up and said in a broken voice, "He doesn't trust us anymore Sanji."  
Everyone's eyes widened when Zoro used Sanji's name as it was a clear marker of how serious this was. "He took my apology, rolled it up and threw it back in my face! He fucking called me First Mate Roronoa and Mr. Roronoa!" Zoro said. The crew all gasped in surprise. Luffy didn't do this. He never did anything like this to a crew member. Zoro just had more bad news to deliver though as he continued with his recollection of his earlier conversation. "He asked me 'What does my illustrious First Mate want with his Captain?' and then proceeded to ask me if I was there to tell him he should stop running around and act like a true captain! He told me that from now on he was going to teach himself to navigate, cook, use swords and become a doctor so that we don't have to worry about doing anything anymore. Then he told me he was going to the library to get a jumpstart on learning to navigate so he can release us from our burdens quicker!"  
The whole crew realized in that moment that the captain was truly serious about his plans. He was going to make sure that they never worked another day in their lives. Nami stood up in anger and said, "I'm going to go talk to the idiot. Maybe I can knock some sense into him." As she was walking toward the door Zoro stopped her and said "Before you go, prepare yourself. His eyes will burrow into your soul and make you feel the extent of his inner pain. Don't be surprised if you come back here with your spirit shattered." Nami looked at Zoro's face and could tell he wasn't kidding. The swordsman had failed his Captain and was broken inside. All Nami could do was nod in response before leaving to take the ominous walk to the library.

If she was expecting him to be slacking off on his promise to Zoro she was in for a shock. As she walked into the room she could see stacks of her Navigation books around him as he read with a look of concentration. Nami stared at him incredulously for a few minutes before she walked up to him to speak. Unfortunately for her however, he beat her to the punch. "And what would our glorious Navigator like today? As you can see I'm quite busy studying to take over for you so you can just relax instead of having to do any work. Don't say anything though. This stuff is riveting! I can see why you do this! I can't wait until I can do all the work and you can just work on your tan or count your money. Rest assured any money we make will go straight to you. The crew doesn't need money. It's all yours! Well I've gone on long enough! What is your complaint today Ms. Nami?"  
Nami just stood there taking all this in. Zoro was right! Luffy really meant business now. "Why? Why are you being so uptight? All we want to do is apologize!" Nami shouted angry. "Apologize? For what? I've finally realized what my true purpose is! I must put my entire crew first! No more work will be done by any of you! Be happy! I will work for as long as my body can hold out! I will make sure you won't work another day until then!" Luffy said happily before he looked straight into Nami's eyes. She flinched backward at what she saw there. Two black soulless depths looking straight into the deepest parts of her soul. There was nothing there except eternal sadness and disappointment. Nami just turned and ran from the room containing the husk of her Captain.

Nami bolted back into the kitchen and ran straight into Robin's arms before she began crying. "What the hell did that shithead do to you Nami-Swan!" Sanji said as he went to comfort her. "I'm going to beat the shit out of that bastard for this!" Sanji shouted as he got up. "NO SANJI DON'T!" Nami shouted. Everyone looked at her realizing her talk with Luffy went even worse than Zoro's. "He just doesn't care anymore! He called me our glorious navigator and then Ms. Nami! And when he looked at me I could see deep inside he was brimming full of resentment and disappointment! He truly believes we shouldn't do anything anymore! It looks like he plans to carry out his words to Zoro! He had read at least half my navigational books and I'm pretty sure he had them memorized!" Everyone gasped at this new information. If Luffy truly believed he had to do this then there wasn't much that could stop him. The crew just looked at each other in desperation as they tried to figure out what to do next.

* * *

Lunchtime...

As Sanji was making lunch he noticed he had acquired a spotter. Luffy had come out of the library and was now watching Sanji's every move. "So what's up Luffy?" Sanji asked trying to sound nonchalant. Luffy continued to watch Sanji's movements before answering, "I'm watching you cook so I can learn how you make your recipes!" Sanji choked on nothing as he turned around to look at Luffy. "Why are you trying to learn from me? I won't let you replace me as cook on this ship!" Sanji said with strong conviction. "Why not?" Luffy asked as he quirked a brow at Sanji. "I've already memorized all your cookbooks so I think I can handle the kitchen anyway." Sanji just gaped at Luffy before stammering out "M-m-memorized a-a-all of m-m-my books?" Luffy just smiled and said "Well yeah it wasn't that difficult. After memorizing all the Navigator's books, I worked on yours and the I read all the Doctor's!" Sanji couldn't believe what he was hearing. Luffy had actually done it. He had prepared himself to tackle any of the Navigator's, Cook's and Doctor's jobs aboard the ship. "Luffy I'm terribly sorry for telling you that you couldn't eat anything till the end of the week. Please stop this and-" Luffy slammed his hand on the table and shouted "NO! I will MAKE all of you watch this as my body deteriorates. I will MAKE you understand what will happen. And then you will suffer for it." Luffy got up and stormed toward the door. As he reached it he stopped and turned around before saying to Sanji, "Thank you wise Cook for allowing me to watch your work. It was indeed a pleasure to watch as it was made. Now if you'll excuse me I must leave before it is finished as I am no longer welcome here. Good day to you Mr. Sanji." Luffy turned and left the room as Sanji collapsed to the floor and muttered "What have we done to him? How can we fix this?"

* * *

After Lunch...

Everyone was sitting around the table in the kitchen thinking about this new set of news. Sanji had just told them that Luffy had finished reading all the Navigational books, cookbooks, and Doctor's manuals. "What are we gonna do guys?" Ussop asked looking depressed. The others had no words to say. "I don't know Ussop, but it's already been a third of a day." Robin said with a frown. "He's already deteriorating. I saw him start shaking before he fell to the ground clutching his stomach. But as quickly as he went down, he got back up and then smiled at me and asked if I was enjoying the show!" Franky said with tears in his eyes. "He refuses to call us anything except by our roles on the ship or calling us Mr. and Ms." Brook said. Suddenly everyone felt the ship shift to starboard slightly and got up to look outside confused. What they saw was surprising. Luffy was checking the direction of the ship and making sure the sails were tight. He had Nami's log pose on his wrist and nodded with satisfaction at seeing they were back on course. Nami's eyes widened when she saw he had the pose on his wrist. "When did he take the pose?" she asked to herself more than anyone. "I was wondering the same thing." Robin said worriedly. "He must have done it while I was in the bath! I took it off in the outer room before starting my bath." Nami said realizing that Luffy had already deemed it time for her to retire from her duties as Navigator. "This is so fucking bad guys! It hasn't been half a day and he's already accomplished a quarter of his mission!" Ussop yelled. "He's already expressed interest in taking my position from me." Sanji said gloomily. "Oh no! That means I'm next!" Chopper exclaimed as he started breaking down in tears. Suddenly they heard another surprise begin outside. They all walked out to see Luffy on the main deck practicing swordsmanship with an iron pipe. "NO! This can't be happening!" Zoro shouted. Luffy turned around and saw them watching him. "Oh hey guys! I decided to get started on taking over for Mr. Roronoa sooner rather than later. Oh and I must say Ms. Robin, I enjoyed reading all of your archeological books as well as Mr. Franky's shipwright books and Mr. Brook's Musician's pieces. They were absolutely riveting! After I'm done practicing with this pipe I'm going to do some target practice to improve my aim so Mr. Ussop can relax as well. After that I believe I will have all of you completely covered so you won't have to worry about anything ever again! By the way I fixed the hole I punched in the kitchen's wall and refilled the cola engine a while ago so don't worry about those. Our heading is back on course and the sails are in the proper positions for the rest of the day. I'll drop the anchor around 8, ok?" Nothing could be said to him as he turned back to the pipe and began practicing again. The crew went back into the kitchen and sat down heavily except for Franky, who wailed as soon as he saw how good of a repair job Luffy did on the hole. As Franky sat down Nami voiced what was on everyone's minds. "So... He did it. He went ahead and took over for us all. He has all our bases covered. On top of teaching himself to cook, navigate, apply medicine, and use a sword, he's taught himself about archeology, shipbuilding, music and marksmanship. He's made us all obsolete." The crew just nodded in response before Chopper spoke up. "He's straining. I could see it in his face. Not eating two meals has begun to push his body and practicing swordsmanship isn't helping him." Zoro spoke up then, "But what can we do to stop him? He's already told Sanji and I that he won't stop until we see what happens when he finally crashes to the ground. I don't think anything any of us say can stop him from doing just that." The whole crew could do nothing but agree.

* * *

Dinnertime...

As Sanji was heading toward the Kitchen to begin on dinner he noticed something odd. He could smell something delicious in the air and he knew he hadn't left anything to cook. 'No. No nononononononono. You son of a bitch you better not have done what I think you did.' Sanji thought as he raced to his kitchen. What he saw was not to his liking. Luffy was in the kitchen and was making dinner. And the worst part was, he did it right. There were no burned dishes, variety rivaling Sanji's and enough food for all of them except himself. "What the FUCK are you doing in here asshole! I told you I wouldn't abandon my position as cook!" Sanji shouted at Luffy, gaining the crew's attention. 'Oh no he took another one's place.' Robin thought grimly. Everyone walked into the kitchen to see everything Luffy had made. Piles of food all made as well as Sanji makes them and without any messes. "Please my wonderful crew, sit down! I have made dinner for you all! I didn't eat any of it so don't be worried about that! Ms. Nami, I have a wide assortment of fruits for you, primarily mikans. Ms. Robin I have made an exquisite tray of different sandwiches and small cakes for you." he said as he sat the food down near them. "Mr. Zoro I made you a large hunk of sea king meat laid atop white rice, soaked in sake until it seeped into the very flesh of the fish. Mr. Ussop I made you a glorious seafood platter out of many small fish and crustaceans. Mr. Chopper I made you this enormous pile of chocolates with cotton candy on the side. Mr. Franky, here's 10 colas taken straight from the fridge so they're still cold and a tray of hamburgers and fries. Mr. Brook I made you this wonderful box of takoyaki and a pot of earl grey tea. And finally for you dear Mr. Sanji I made you this platter of spicy seafood pasta with a side of your favorite black tea. Now please everyone enjoy your meals. I must go check our heading and prepare to weigh anchor for the night." Everyone stared as Luffy left the kitchen. "How did he know our favorite foods?" Ussop asked. "I put them down in one of my books so I could remember." Sanji said as he stared at this beautifully prepared meal. He reached down and picked up his fork then took a bite of his food. Everyone waited with anticipation to see how he would react. Sanji calmly set his fork down and turned to them with tears in his eyes. "He's better than me!" he shouted depressed. Everyone else stepped forward to try their food only to find out that Sanji was indeed right. Luffy had surpassed his own cook.

* * *

That Evening...

The crew was sitting in the aquarium room and everyone was severely depressed. After Luffy had made dinner and they had begun eating it seemed as though the surprises were done for the day. Unfortunately this was very wrong as, when they were in the middle of eating Luffy came back in with Brook's guitar and sat down in the corner away from the food he wasn't allowed to eat. Everyone looked at him with incredulous looks as he began to actually play the guitar he was holding. Brook especially looked distraught as he found that he was the next member of the crew to have his position taken from him. And the biggest problem was, Luffy was good. Really good. He was playing the guitar as if he had practiced for years before he even met the crew. And then he started to sing. It was quiet at first but then picked up in volume. As Luffy sang the crew looked astonished. They had all heard Luffy sing before but he sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Now his voice had perfect melody with the music and brought out such emotion from the crew that by the time he was done singing everyone except Zoro and Sanji was crying. When Luffy looked up and gave them all a huge smirk, Nami fell out of her chair, amazed at how absolutely SEXY her captain looked. She had felt this way before but kept it a secret from the crew because she didn't want to cause problems. But when he gave them that look she couldn't help herself. After she fell it looked as though Chopper would rush to her side but Luffy beat him to it. Before she even touched the ground he was there checking her over like a true professional. After he deemed that she was in fact okay and setting her back in her chair he told her "Be more careful Nami! I don't want to even have to employ the medical skills I learned on any of you! I'd prefer it if none of you got hurt because I don't want to see that." With that he stood up grabbed the guitar from where he'd set it and left after bowing to them and telling them he would take the night watch. By this point Chopper and Brook were holding each other and crying over their lost jobs to the crew. Nami just sat there stunned. He had looked in her eyes when he sat her down but this time instead of just anger and resentment she saw a spark. It wasn't much of one but it was there. It seemed as though he was calling to her, telling her that only she could stop what he was doing but damned if she couldn't figure out how. Robin noticed her confused look and asked her, "Nami? What's the matter? I mean besides the fact that everyone in the crew has been replaced by one man on a mission." Nami continued to stare at the door where Luffy had been for a few moments before she replied with "I don't know. After he set me down he looked into my eyes again. But this time there was actually something there other than just his pain." Robin looked surprised. Could it be that there was a way to get Luffy out of this downward spiral? "What do you mean Nami?" Robin asked gently. "I mean it looked as though he was trying to tell me something. Like he was trying to tell me how to help end this pain of ours. I'm not certain though." Nami said quietly. The rest of the crew had by now stopped blubbering tears and were listening to what Nami said. A way to stop Luffy's pained rampage over their lives? Was that even possible? Everyone knew how Luffy got when he wanted something. Everyone continued thinking about it until they all decided to go to bed and see if they could figure it out by tomorrow.

* * *

Later That Night... (WARNING...this next part is a little graphic which is part of the reason for the M rating)

Nami woke up drenched in a cold sweat. 'That dream had been all to real.' she thought. She had dreamed that the crew had gotten into a battle but Luffy had tied them all down and insisted that he could handle it. So he took of with a sword in his hand and started to savagely destroy the Marine ships that had attacked. He was not merciful toward them. After he was down beating up all the crew members of the enemy ships he drew the Strawhat Jolly Roger on every ship and then came back to the Sunny. He didn't untie them first though, because he decided to get them out of there first. After he had used the Coup de Burst to get them away from the destroyed Marines, he finally untied all of them. They all were pissed but before they could say anything Luffy collapsed on the deck and started shaking violently. Chopper rushed over to inspect him but stopped when he heard a guttural growl come from Luffy's mouth. "Well then I guess its that time huh? My body started shutting down just now if you're wondering. I've now lost the strength to do anything except lay here. In another hour or two I will be gone and then you will finally be free of this burden that was your "Captain." I hope you are all prepared to say goodbye because there's no going back from here. The final cycle of my body's deterioration has started and after it finishes I will be dead." The whole crew stared at Luffy with wide unbelieving eyes. However they soon believed him when Chopper (who had begun attempting to help Luffy) started crying loudly. "Chopper what's wrong?! He's lying right?" Nami shouted with tears in her eyes. "Come now Ms. Nami, you know I can't lie." Luffy said as he started coughing. The crew finally realized it then...Luffy was going to die. And they couldn't stop it. Luffy began coughing more violently and soon coughed up a massive amount of blood that spewed onto the deck. "Ahhhhh..." Luffy moaned, "There goes my digestive system. My intestines, stomach, liver and kidneys just collapsed in on themselves. Next to go will be my muscular system and after that it starts going really downhill until finally my heart and brain will fall apart and I will be dead." By this point the crew was in tears. "LUFFY!" they all cried. "Oh come on now. I told you this would happen. It's not my fault you didn't believe me." Luffy said as he weakly smiled. "Luffy! I don't want you to go! Why did you have to do this! Why couldn't you just accept our apology?" Chopper sobbed, crying into Luffy's chest. "I told you that you would reap what you had sown. I didn't expect to deteriorate this fast though. I had fully intended to stop this before it reached past saving point but oh well. It's not like I was needed here anyway." The crew looked at Luffy as though he had grown a second head. "WHAT!" the crew shouted. "Since when don't we need you shithead!?" Sanji shouted. "Yeah anyway you fucking idiot! You are the whole reason we are here and not dead or dying!" Zoro cried out. "Without you all of us would still be stuck back where we were and we never would have gone on these adventures with you!" Ussop said as he cried. "Yeah without you Brook would still be drifting around the Florian Triangle with no shadow, Franky would be stuck wondering the scrapyard at Water 7, Robin would be either dead or in the hands of the World Government, Chopper would never have left Drum Island and would know nothing of the world, Sanji would probably have died when the Krieg Pirates attacked Baratie, Ussop would most likely have died protecting Kaya from Kuro, Nami would either still be working for Arlong or would be dead by his hand and I would have died at the Marine base in Shell Town before I even got to meet Mihawk. So do you really think you were that worthless to us?!" Zoro shouted angrily. "And there it is." Luffy said with a smile. The crew didn't know how to react to that. "What do you mean Luffy?" Nami asked fearing the answer. "All I wanted was for you to discover what would have happened if I hadn't been there at all. And now that you have rediscovered what I have done I think it is time for this to end." Luffy said as his face grew even more pained. "No Luffy don't go please!" Nami shouted, "I haven't told you something I should have said a long time ago!" Luffy looked up at her with sad eyes, already figuring out what she was going to say. "I love you Luffy!" Nami cried as she hugged his body to her. "I love you too Nami, but I'm sorry. It's too late. I can feel my heart starting to collapse. Soon I will be gone and you will all have to move on." Luffy said with a slight smile. "No Luffy please! Chopper can't you do anything?!" Nami shouted. Chopper just shook his head and said "No I can't he was too far gone before he even collapsed. Nothing could have stopped this." Luffy looked around at his crew for the last time before his gaze rested on Nami. "I'm sorry that it came to this. Don't give up on your dreams! I want all of you to succeed where I have failed! Now my time has come. Goodbye my crew. I will miss you all." Luffy said before drawing his last breath. The whole crew just cried in each other's arms before they noticed something happening to Luffy's body. It had begun shifting and was sagging rapidly until it just melting apart leaving a pile of blood, atomized guts, and skin tissue left. All in all it looked as though a bomb had gone of inside Luffy's body. Nami just screamed when he saw it. And that was when she had woken up.

Nami knew she couldn't go back to sleep for fear of seeing that dream again. She decided to go out and see what Luffy was doing and hopefully get him to stop this once and for all, before that dream became horrible reality. She found Luffy sitting at the helm, wide awake and checking for any problems around the ship. Nami looked around and was surprised to see a half destroyed Marine battleship of to the east a ways. "Did you do that?" Nami asked quietly. Luffy looked at her with slightly bored eyes and nodded before saying, "Yeah they were planning to attack us later tonight so I decided to take the Shark Submerge over there and stop the threat before it began. I gave me time to practice on my swordsmanship and marksmanship. I stole a sword and a gun from the Marines and started fighting. I didn't kill any of them though if you're wondering. I only aimed to incapacitate. I don't like killing people. It just seems wrong." Nami only nodded in response before she noticed that he was looking through a book filled with passages in ancient languages. "What are you reading?" Nami asked. "Oh I found this on that ship. It's an ancient codex on the islands around here. I'm translating it so you can use it to make your maps. I do still want you to finish your dreams even if I have taken over for all of you." Luffy said as he looked down at the book. Nami's heart strained at the memory of her dream. 'I can't let this continue anymore. It has to end tonight.' she thought. "Luffy... I need to tell you something." Nami started. Luffy turned to look at her with hard eyes. "If this is another attempt to end this endeavor stop now." he said angrily. Nami just shook her head and recited her dream to him. The only thing she left out was when she had said that she loved him. She watched as his face grew pained and he looked away from her. She could have sworn she saw tears in his eyes but when he looked back at her there was nothing there but the hard eyes again. "Well that's your problem not mine. I don't care about that. You will know my pain by tomorrow's end." Luffy said as he stomped away from her. 'NO! I...I can't lose him! Not like I lost Bellemere-san!' Nami shouted in her head. She resolved that tomorrow she would end this problem or die trying.

* * *

The Next Morning...

The crew woke up to breakfast already made and piping hot but Luffy was nowhere in sight. After everyone had eaten Nami relayed her dream to the rest of the crew, once again leaving out the "I love you" part. The crew looked horrified at the prospect that this is what would happen to Luffy. Nami looked at her crewmates horrified faces and tried to think of something to bring Luffy off of this disastrous path he was walking. "I saw him a few minutes ago," Chopper said, "His body looks thinner, his eyes were sunken in, and his stomach was making horrible noises. I fear that at this rate Luffy will be dead by tonight." Everyone looked shocked, sure Luffy had said that this would happen but they still weren't sure. Now though... Chopper had figured out that what Luffy said was true. "Dammit! I wish there was a way to get that idiot to realize we need him here and that without him this crew is nothing but a bunch of disrespectful ingrates!" Zoro shouted as he slammed his head on the table and clenched his teeth to stop himself from showing any emotional weakness. Suddenly Nami bolted upright and ran over to Zoro and pulled him up, hugging him and screamed excitedly, "That's it! Zoro you're a fucking genius! I know how we can save Luffy!" Zoro looked astonished before he broke into a huge smile and picked the "witch" up and hugging her back before putting her back down and exclaiming "How?!" Zoro asked finally beginning to look like his old self. The rest of the crew also was looking at her with excitement. "All we need to do is show him what he has truly meant to us! Not apologize but give him the true depth of our feelings for him from the bottom of our hearts. He may be rejecting apologies but this all started because he thought we no longer appreciated him. But now that Zoro figured this out, we can save him!" Nami squealed. The crew looked like the hand of God had come down and gave them a miracle in the form of a green haired swordsman. "Ok so who wants to go first?" Nami asked, "But before anything else I want to say I'll be going last. I have something special planned." Zoro stood up and nodded. "I'll go first. I was the first to join, and I believe we should go in order of our joining, besides Nami." The rest of the crew nodded and Zoro took a deep breath before he walked out of the door.

Zoro found Luffy at the helm where he was checking their bearing. Zoro smiled as he walked up and sat down leaning on the railing of the ship. Luffy looked over at him and wondered if this was another attempt to apologize. He scoffed at the thought, thinking that this will be a short conversation. He was soon surprised however when Zoro just sat there with his eyes shut. 'Well never mind then. I guess he just want's to sleep' Luffy thought. After a few minutes of silence Luffy heard something different from his expectations. Zoro started crying and was beginning to speak to him in a low quiet voice. "Thank you Luffy... without you I would be buried back in Shell Town right now and I never would have gotten all the chances at improving that you've given me. Without you I never would have gotten this far toward my dream of beating Mihawk. I...I never really thanked you for all of this. You have been one of the few people in this world I could rely on when the shit hit the fan. Even though I didn't like some of your more blockhead decisions I followed them with faith that everything would turn out alright. When... Kuma came to Thriller Bark and fought us he was going to take you but I stopped him from doing anything to you. I decided then and there that nothing was more important than helping you reach your goal. In exchange for letting you go he took all your pain and made me take it as punishment. He told me I would most likely die from all that damage you had accumulated. I didn't care though. I took in all of it and stayed alive. I was so happy that I could finally begin to repay you for all you've done for me. When I saw the paper after Marineford I knew that this was another opportunity to prove to you I was worthy of your trust. I trained a hard as possible every day, with the single hope that I could repay you one day. And I have not done anything since worth even a bit of your praise. I have failed you as a first mate and fellow Nakama. I just hope that I won't fail you now in the one time you truly need to see that we are still worthy of your faith. I hope you can forgive me for being so goddamned worthless!" Luffy looked on as Zoro poured out his heart. "Yes Zoro, you finally understand what I have been trying to get you to realize!" Luffy exclaimed. Zoro looked up and stared at Luffy with red eyes. "What do you mean?" Zoro asked. "After yesterday morning's fiasco I decided it was time to see if I was really necessary on this ship. When you came to apologize I almost gave in but then I thought that it wasn't enough. You needed to see what would happen to the crew if I was gone or if you all had been replaced. And you finally see it! The lesson I was trying to teach! Without me being the way I always am the crew begins to fall apart! You all need me as much as I truly need all of you! Without you I am nothing but a withering husk of depression! Sure I can do all you jobs but I don't want to! I need my Nakama to keep me sane and without you all constantly being there I have begun to fall apart. So yes you have regained my trust even though you never really lost it! All of this was a test to see if you still had the conviction to help me in my times of need! You have passed my test!" Luffy exclaimed excited. Zoro sat there too shocked to even think. After a few minutes he got up, walked over to Luffy and gave him a bone crushing hug. "Thank you Luffy! You don't know how much I truly needed this!" Zoro cried out. "Alright Zoro, just don't tell the others how well this went. I need all of them to learn as well. Especially Sanji and Nami. They are the ones who seem to forget the most." Luffy said as he patted his swordsman's back. "Now go back but look solemn. This needs to be done perfectly." Luffy said with sparkling eyes. "You're a devious bastard Luffy." Zoro said as he walked away. "Shishishishishi! Yeah well, only when it's necessary." Luffy exclaimed as he laughed. Zoro laughed as he walked back to the kitchen. As he reached the door he put his old solemn face back on and walked in.

Everyone looked up as Zoro walked back in. From the look on his face it didn't go so well. Zoro sat down back in his seat and ignored the looks. "Ussop! It's your turn to try." he said. Ussop didn't look to happy about it but he stood up and walked out anyway. Zoro got up and followed him out saying he was going to lay down in the men's room. Nami suddenly looked like she was thinking that maybe this plan as was foolish as apologizing. 'I hope to God this works.' she thought.

Ussop walked over to where Luffy was sitting and sat down across from him. Luffy looked at him with a bored expression and waited for Ussop to begin, while hiding his excitement to hear what Ussop would say. They sat there in silence for a while just listening to the ocean and the birds. After a few minutes Ussop sighed before he began talking. "You know Luffy, when I first met you I was terrified that you would kill me and pillage Syrup Village like any other pirate would. But then you taught me something. You taught me that not all pirates are merciless assholes. After we got to know each other a little we found out about Kuro's plan and without hesitating you decided to help me save my village. When that happened all I could think about was, why? Why would a pirate help someone he barely knows? I found my answer soon enough. You cared for everyone you met that didn't declare themselves your enemies. You had already believed we were Nakama before we even fought Kuro! And after we won and you invited me on your ship I finally realized that I could complete my dream to become a warrior of the sea! We had so many great adventures after that. That is until Water 7. I was selfish. I couldn't see that you were trying to do what was best for the crew. After our battle I felt so ashamed of myself but I couldn't change what happened. Then Robin disappeared and we found out about CP9 and Enies Lobby. I realized that even if I was no longer a member of the crew I had to do my part. I didn't think I could face you again so soon after our last encounter so I hid my identity behind that of Sogeking. I was there though our entire siege and I was so happy when you beat Lucci! After we got back and Sunny was built I realized I had to apologize or my Nakama would leave me. When you accepted me back I was so overjoyed that I could continue sailing with the only people that ever made me truly happy, that I never really thanked you for all you did for me. Now here we are 2 years later and I still haven't thanked you. So I guess what I'm getting at is... I am so glad that you accepted me way back in Syrup because otherwise I would be dead by now. I was ill prepared and you gave me somewhere to go and a family to share in the adventure. Thank you Luffy. For all that you've done." Luffy's eyes lit up when Ussop finished. "Yes! You too have come to the same understanding as Zoro!" Ussop looked confused and asked "What?" Luffy smiled at Ussop before saying "This was all a test of faith! I wanted to see how the crew would handle this situation. You were all pretty miserable on the first day but one of you must have figured out how to fix the problem. My not eating was the catalyst I needed to figure out that this test was necessary. I wanted to see what would happen if I became less of what I was and more of what we don't need. A domineering captain with no respect for his crew. A captain that believed nobody but himself was necessary for the ship to run smoothly. As you can see I can run this ship by myself but why should I? Why should I when I have Nakama that can help me do it? To make the job easier? There is no reason for me to do this because I have the best crew possible that can help me along the way! I need you all as much as you need me to keep you together!" Ussop looked so surprised in that moment that he may have actually died but soon he caught up and figured out what Luffy was saying. The captain is the most necessary cog in the wheels of the clock. He keeps the whole thing running. "Oh my God. This is such a relief! I don't have to worry that you'll die!" Ussop shouted. "Oh I do need to eat though. That part wasn't a lie. So hopefully all of you can do this well before too much longer. Now don't tell the others about any of this. They must come to their realizations on their own. Go tell whoever's next that you're done but don't give anything away." Luffy said with a serious face. "You got it Captain!" Ussop said as he saluted and walked back to the kitchen.

Ussop walked back in and looked about as good as Zoro did. "Sanji it's your turn to try." he said as he walked back out saying he was going to his Factory. As of now everyone's faces were looking stressed out and Sanji looked as though he really didn't want to. He got up and took a deep breath before walking out.

Luffy sensed Sanji behind him and got ready. This one was sure to be bad. Sanji was the most argumentative of the crew and Luffy wasn't sure how well he was going to take the revelation. Sanji stopped walking right behind where Luffy was standing and wondered where to begin. Finally he started speaking "Back when I was still at Baratie I tried my hardest to prove myself. I wasn't appreciated sometimes but there were other times that people liked what I did. Then you came along. I never had to prove myself because you liked me before I even said two words to you because I was a cook. It didn't matter what my attitude was, you just liked that simple fact. After I gave food to Gin and sent him on his way I found out that you were determined to have me on your ship as the crew's cook. I didn't want to though. I had to stay at Baratie and watch over the old man. Then Krieg came and everything went downhill from there. I thought your crew was pretty stupid when you dared to fight Krieg and when Marimo fought Mihawk. I thought any dream wasn't worth your life, especially when Marimo almost died. But then you proved me wrong. You proved to me that your dreams are always worth dying for. After your crew left to track down Nami-san and you stayed to fight Krieg I figured you wouldn't see them again and I didn't understand. But then Zeff told me to watch you carefully. I was surprised to see that you were winning against him. After you broke his indestructible shield something within me changed. I knew then that you were someone worth following. You were someone I would die to follow because you could help me accomplish my dream. Not long after you won and I said goodbye to Baratie you surprised me again at the lengths you would go to for a crewmate. During our assault on Arlong Park I watched as you fought with everything you had simply because Arlong had made Nami-san cry. You didn't even know her story, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered except freeing her over spilt tears. At that moment I came to respect you as much as I've ever respected anyone. You never failed to exceed my expectations throughout our adventures. You should know that at Thriller Bark, Kuma was going to take you but I offered myself instead. Zoro beat me to it though. Hopefully he doesn't mind me telling you that. When Kuma was going to take you I couldn't think of anything except saving you. This crew needs you more than anyone else. Without you we would all fall apart. We need you Luffy so please stop this. Don't go on with this plan to make us pay. Seeing you like this is enough pain to go around. I guess that's all I have to say." Luffy nodded in affirmation before standing up and pulling Sanji into a hug. "You understand Sanji! You've learned the lesson well." Luffy said quietly. Sanji was stunned. "What lesson?" he asked slowly. Luffy pulled away from Sanji and took a step back before speaking. "I came up with a plan to get you all to rethink what holds us all together. After yesterday morning I was pissed but then I thought to myself 'What is wrong here? It's like they don't care about what we mean as a group anymore.' And that's when it hit me. I needed to make you all think about life without me. If I died what would happen? If someone took over your jobs and did them better what would happen? And it worked marvelously! So far you, Zoro, and Ussop have all passed my test. Hopefully the others will do just as well." Sanji didn't know what to think. Luffy had made a plan to reinforce their faith in each other and him and it had worked. "Are you even dying? You seem awful fine for saying you would die by tonight." Sanji asked Luffy. "Yes I actually would die if I continued but you figured it out faster than I thought you would. If you guys continue at this pace we'll have this sorted out by lunch." Sanji just smiled, "Well then I guess I should get Chopper out here the so you can continue with these heart to heart lessons." Sanji said as he turned away. "Yea but don't tell anyone what happened. I need them to think the same as before this started." Luffy said. Sanji only nodded as he walked back to the kitchen and put a sour look on his face in preparation.

Sanji walked in and looked over at the crew before closing the door quietly. Nami looked stressed. "How did it go? Please tell me Sanji!" she shouted worriedly. Sanji looked at her with solemn eyes before turning to Chopper and saying "Your turn." Chopper's eyes started tearing up. He didn't know what to do. It didn't look like the talks were going well and he didn't want to get crushed next. Sighing in defeat he stood and walked to the door. Giving the crew one last look of fear he walked out. Sanji followed saying he was going to go check the storage. The rest of the crew looked desperate at this point. What was happening out there?

Chopper walked up to Luffy slowly. He was so scared at this point. Too scared to even talk. Luffy turned to look at Chopper and asked "What do you need, Doctor?" Chopper started crying before he ran and jumped into Luffy's arms. "Don't die Luffy! Without you I don't know what to do! You were one of the first people to accept me even though I was a monster! I didn't really trust you at first but you proved to be a great man when Wapol invaded the island. You defended my flag at the risk of your life and helped protect the castle from him. And even before that you impressed me when you climbed the Drum Rockies by yourself with two members of your crew injured and hanging from your body! And then you asked me to join you and wouldn't take no for an answer. I was overjoyed to have friends after all that time! And now one of those friends is dying and I can't do anything about it because he won't let me! Please Luffy let me help you! I can't live with myself if you're gone!" Chopper cried out. Luffy smiled down at the little reindeer in his arms. "You were the hardest to be ignorant to Chopper. But don't cry anymore. You passed the test!" Luffy told him. Chopper looked up and wiped his eyes to see Luffy smiling at him. "What test?" he sniffled. "The test to see if you could trust your Nakama even in times of doubt. I'm sorry I made you feel like this but I needed to see if you all could remember to believe in each other and me through all adversity. I wanted to know what you would do if you were replaced or if I changed completely. You all proved exceptional so far. You still believed in me even though I did all of this. Thank you Chopper for reaffirming my choices in Nakama." Luffy said quietly so only Chopper could hear. Chopper's eyes grew wide and he laughed happily when Luffy told him this. "YAY! So you're not going to die?" he asked. "Not if you guys keep it up with your revelations. I need to eat soon or I'm going to collapse." Chopper nodded and took off for the kitchen. "Chopper act solemn! I need them to come to grips by themselves!" Luffy told him. Chopper nodded in response and left quietly.

The crew was anxious when Chopper walked in. "What happened! Please tell us!" Nami exclaimed. She was beginning to look very worried that this wasn't going to work. Chopper told Robin, "Your turn to try Robin." before leaving to go to his office. Robin swallowed before getting up and walking to the door. "Well here goes." she said quietly.

She found Luffy still at the helm and walked up to stand in front of him while leaning on the railing. "Hello Luffy, how are you?" she asked trying to ease into her confession to him. "Well enough I guess. Even if you all are getting on my nerves today." Luffy said trying to sound cold. Robin's eyes widened before she started speaking again. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, "I know what we did yesterday was selfish but I don't understand why you would go this far. When I first met you we were enemies but I still respected you for who you were. Even when facing the odds against you, all you could think about was fulfilling your promise to Vivi. I respected you even more later when you fought to protect your Nakama from Crocodile outside of Rainbase. Even after losing and I had saved you all you wanted was to follow Crocodile and fight him again. Later on in the catacombs underneath Alubarna, you fought Crocodile with such conviction! When you won and the place was collapsing around us I told you to leave me but you adamantly refused. And I couldn't understand why! Then days later when we were leaving Alabasta and I made you accept me into the crew I found out something that I should have figured out before. You did it because you saw something even I couldn't see. You saw the good in me. I wasn't sure there was any left after all those years alone. Then Water 7 happened. I left to protect all of you. But you wouldn't have it. You followed and fought CP9. You declared war on the world for me. And in that moment I realized I had what I had been looking for all along. True Nakama in your crew. Before that moment I wanted to die but you wouldn't let me. And finally I saw that with you I could truly live! Finally the Nakama that Saul had promised would come had arrived. I shouted out that I wanted to live and you all jumped at the opportunity. You defeated the entire CP9 and destroyed Enies Lobby for me. I couldn't have asked for better Nakama. So please stop this. I can't lose one of you. It would break me again. I don't want to go back to that. I don't want to see this crew fall apart. We need you Luffy. More than even we realized until now." Luffy smiled at her words. "Thank you Robin. Those words were very kind. You have passed the test." he told her. Robin was startled. "Test? What test do you mean?" she asked. "The test I created to see if the crew could hold together. After yesterday I began to think about some things. By the time Zoro had come to apologize I had already decided. The crew needed to learn a few things. So I decided to change myself and slowly take over for all of you until you would be obsolete. It wasn't one of my proudest moments but it needed to be done. You all had lost sight of what we meant to each other. Especially me. Everyone had begun being very rude toward me lately and I was wondering if I was even necessary anymore. So I did this. And I succeeded. You all have remembered what we stood for to each other and now we will be stronger for it." Luffy said. Robin fell to her knees crying and said, "Thank God! I thought that this was the end. You are right. We have been disrespectful toward each other for some time now. Thank you Luffy! I needed this so much! I needed someone to reaffirm my faith in the crew!" Luffy smiled and got up then pulled Robin to him in a warm hug. "You're welcome Robin. I'm glad you remembered what we meant to each other. Now please go tell whoever's next to come out. We need to keep this ball rolling." Luffy said quietly. Robin nodded in response and began to walk away. "Oh and don't tell them how this went." Luffy said. Robin nodded as she walked and then disappeared into the kitchen.

The remaining three looked up when Robin walked in. Nami looked at her with pleading eyes but was again ignored when Robin told Franky that it was his turn before leaving to go to the library. Franky stood up and left without making much noise. Nami looked down at the table and thought, 'Maybe this is the end. Maybe Luffy will be gone by the end of the day. No! I can't think that! We must succeed!'

Franky walked outside and saw Luffy at the helm. He walked over to him and stood next to him. Luffy looked at him for a second before turning back to looking straight ahead. Franky took a deep breath before beginning. "You know Mugiwara back when we first met I thought you were just some little punk. I mean you didn't seem to have a very good handle on being a captain. After my group stole that 200,000,000 beli from you and I left to go get the Adam Wood to accomplish my dream I though I wouldn't see you again. Imagine my surprise when I came back to see my followers all beaten and bloody. When we fought in the shipyard at Water 7 I started thinking that maybe there was more to you than I knew. After that you proceeded to defy my expectations when you fought so hard for Robin's life. Here I was thinking you were a bad guy and next thing I know you were destroying Enies Lobby just for her. After we had won I promised to you that I would make you the greatest ship ever built. I gave you the Thousand Sunny but you wouldn't stand for me not coming with as your shipwright. After Robins "convincing" I joined you and we sailed forth. You had taken my every expectation of you and thrown it away. You may be goofy but you're the best damn captain I've ever seen. So please stop this. Come back to us and prove that you're the SUPER captain you were then. I need to know that you mean to stay around and not die. Without you this ship goes nowhere and the I can't fulfill my dream. We all need you Mugiwara, whether you believe it or not." Luffy's eyes sparkled at the end of Franky's speech. "There you go! You pass as well!" he exclaimed. Franky looked at Luffy surprised. "Pass? Pass what?" he asked. "You passed my test. You've reminded yourself of why you joined this crew and reaffirmed your belief in me and the crew. You all needed to be reminded of why you are here. I came up with this plan to see how you would handle the adversity that I put before you. Someone replaced you as Shipwright and you felt lost inside. Now you have reminded yourself that YOU are the shipwright here and that we need to stick together without any problems amongst ourselves." Franky smiled in return and said, "Thanks Mugiwara. We needed this. I'm gonna go tell Brook to get his ass out here. I want this to be over." He began walking away then. "Don't tell them how it went!" Luffy exclaimed. "You got it Mugiwara." Franky said in return.

Nami was practically pulling her hair out by the time Franky walked in. "Tell me! Please!" she pleaded. "Brook! It's time!" Franky said as he left to go down to his workshop. Brook got up and said to Nami, "I will try my best Nami-san." before leaving. Nami just sat there and stared off into the distance. 'Please go well. I can't take much more of this.' she thought.

Brook walked up to Luffy and stood beside him. Luffy looked up at him to acknowledge his presence. Brook looked down at Luffy and nodded his head before beginning to speak. "Long before I met you I was a member of a pirate crew named the Rumbar Pirates. We had many adventures together until our captain Yorki came down with an incurable sickness. I watched as he deteriorated and eventually took our ship and sailed off to meet his death. After that I took over as Captain but my time was short-lived as not long after that the ship was attacked and my entire crew died, including myself. After some time my soul finally made it back to my body but then I was alone. For 50 years I was alone. Until you came along. You wanted me to join your crew before you knew anything about me. After our fight at Thriller Bark I was overjoyed. After so long I finally had other people to talk to. You let me join your crew with no hesitation and have cared for me ever since. I am so grateful to you and the rest of the crew. So please Luffy-san. Don't make me watch as another one of my friends dies. I don't want to see anyone go through that like I did." Luffy smiled at Brook. "I don't plan on it Brook. You pass." Brook looked confused. "And what exactly did I pass?" he asked. Luffy grinned at Brook and said, "My test. You passed quite easily. You and Chopper I was the least angry at. You haven't been here long and you respect everyone so much that you weren't really even part of the problem but I included you anyway just so that you could learn as well. The point of this test was to reaffirm the crew's beliefs in one another. Especially in me. I have felt that the crew was drifting apart for a while now and decided that we needed something to push us back together. And what could be better than the possibility of my death and when all of you get replaced by someone? It pushed you all together so you had to lean on one another so that you could figure out how to rectify the problem. And you all succeeded." Brook gasped at this. "So the others were successful when they talked to you?" Luffy grinned and said, "Yes but I told them to keep it from the rest of you because I wanted to see what you had learned. Now go and get our last crewmember. I'm sure she's freaking out as it is. But don't tell her anything." Brook nodded as he walked away. Luffy turned back to the helm and thought, 'One more to go. How are you going to take this Nami? I hope you can accept what I've done.'

Nami jumped out of her chair when Brook walked in. "What happened? Tell me!" she shouted. Brook looked at her and said "Your turn." before turning and leaving for the aquarium. Nami stared at the door as it closed. 'No no nononononononononono! Goddammit why didn't it work! I guess he really doesn't care about us.' she thought solemnly. Still she got up and walked out to give it her best shot.

Luffy was anxiously waiting for Nami, the last of the crew and the one he was most worried about. Finally he heard her come up behind him and start speaking. "Luffy, I...I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you. You've done so much for me and how have I repaid you? By treating you like shit. You rescued me from Arlong, climbed a mountain for me when I was sick, rescued me from Enel and have helped me get through so much. Without you I'd have nothing! If not for you... I don't even want to think about where I'd be. I...I need you. More than you know. There's something I didn't tell you about that dream." Luffy's eyes began to widen. 'Is... is this what I think it is? Does she love me like I love her?!' he thought. "Just before you died in my dream I told you something I've felt for a long time. I think it started after you beat Arlong and saved me and my village. I didn't think of it much then but it just grew more and more. When you said you'd climb that mountain to get me a doctor I realized my feelings. I couldn't say anything though. I didn't know how you'd react. So I kept it to myself. Then in Skypeia I thought that I was going to die before I could tell you my feelings but you came and saved me yet again. I thought that I couldn't feel this way about you any more than I did at that point but then you proved me wrong. I saw the lengths you'd go to for a single one of us; not worried about yourself at all. We stormed Enies Lobby just for Robin on your orders. Then even when she demanded to forget about her and let her die you refused. You were ready to take on the world just for her. It was there and then I realized that you would do that for any one of us. Then Saboady happened. That was one of our worst days. I read about everything you had done after we were separated and I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if we had been there to help you. I cried myself to sleep a few times over those 2 years. I...I didn't like it. I was alone. I hate being alone. But more than anything I hated being separated from YOU. I should have told you when we got back together but I still refrained. But now I know I need to tell you because it's now or never. I..." she trailed of there. By now Luffy was physically shaking. 'Oh God what is she gonna say when she finds out? I can't keep myself contained much longer. Please Nami... tell me what you feel. Release me from this torturous burden.' he thought. "I... love you, Monkey D. Luffy. I can't live without you. I NEED you in my life. Without you I feel so incomplete. So please turn around and look at me. Please tell me that I didn't just say all this in vain! I can't do this anymore. Nobody told me anything and I can't help but think that you're going to leave us. Just know that if you died... I would follow you." Luffy's head shot up. 'NO! I can't do that to her!' he shouted in his mind.

"I can't stay alive if you're not here. It would break me. So...please..." she finished as she fell to her knees with her head in her hands. Luffy couldn't handle this anymore. He got up and walked over to Nami. He fell to his knees in front of her and reached out for her. As he put his hat on her head he pulled her in to the strongest hug he'd ever given anyone. Nami couldn't respond. She didn't know how. "I could never do that to you Nami. You're the only person that could tell me to come back. I'm sorry I put you through this. My reasons sound so dull after what you just said. But it needed to be done. To reaffirm the crew's beliefs in each other. To show how much we need each other. It was hard to keep it up but the results were somewhat worth it. At least it seemed that way before you. I can't believe I put you through all this after you told me that dream last night. I almost broke then but I knew I couldn't. I...I need you so much. You are MY navigator. You are the only person I've ever felt this way about. I love you Nami. Do you think you could forgive me for this?" he said as he pulled away to look her straight in the eyes. 'She looks so beautiful in the morning sunlight. Oh who am I kidding she looks beautiful everywhere and anytime.' he thought. She stared at him for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice, "So this was all a test? Are you even really dying?" Luffy's face became strained. "Yes this was a test. One I wish I never had to perform. And yes I would actually die without food. I really do need that much to stay in top shape. I'm really sorry I had to do this." he said as tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes. "I...I..." he said before he shook his head and darted forward, grabbing the back of Nami's head and bringing her forward. He crashed his lips right on to hers and gave her a rough kiss. Her eyes widened before she reached up and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck deepening the kiss. After a solid 30 seconds they broke apart gasping for air. Luffy put his forehead against Nami's and looked deep into her eyes. In them he saw slight anger but much more of something he wanted to see there when she looked at him for a long time in the future. Love. He knew that this was what he had wanted all along. He knew long ago that Nami was special but not how special. "You have always meant so much to me Nami. I guess I should have told you earlier. Now what do you say we go and gather the crew? We should celebrate the reaffirmation of our beliefs and if you want to tell them about it, our relationship." Nami nodded at him and said, "Yeah that sounds like a plan. I don't care what they think about it so we can tell them if you want." Luffy smiled as he stood up, pulling her with him.

"OI! Everyone get out here! I have some news for you!" he shouted. Soon everyone came from the places they went after their talks with Luffy. "What's up?" Zoro said with a slight smile. He had noticed how close Nami was to Luffy and as he looked at the rest of the crew he noticed that Robin seemed to have spotted it to. "We're going to have a party to celebrate this! Well that and Nami and I decided to tell you all that we're together now. Hopefully there won't be any problems with that." he said as he looked straight at Sanji. Said cook seemed to be fighting with himself. After a few moments he smiled and said, "Whatever. Who am I to step in between love?" The crew visibly relaxed after that. Luffy smiled and shouted, "Alright then! Now who's hungry! And who's cooking?" he said with a slight grin as he looked at Sanji again. "As if I'm not taking back my position as cook Shithead!" Sanji shouted back as he stomped into the kitchen to start making food. "Ah that reminds me!" Luffy exclaimed. He turned back to Nami and help out the log pose. "I believe this belongs to you. I don't need it anymore." he said with a small smile. Nami smiled back and took the pose, putting it back on her wrist. Luffy turned back to the crew an said, "Any tools or supplies I had taken will be given back to you just wait until after the party. Oh and Robin I want you to have this." He grabbed the codex he had taken from the Marines and gave it to her. "I translated about half of it. The rest is yours to finish. After all that is your work." he said with a gentle smile. Robin nodded and said, "So you learned to translate ancient languages too huh? What else did you learn?" Luffy's smile grew as he said, "Well lot's of stuff. I really did read every book in the library that contained anything on Archeology, Medicine, Cooking, Shipbuilding, Music, and Navigation. I did train in some swordplay based on what I had seen Zoro do and marksmanship based on Ussop's style. It was challenging trying to keep up with it. Hopefully I'll never have to use that knowledge again though. I'd rather everything stay the way I'm used to it. Well except for one thing." Nami looked at him with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Oh? And what would that be?" Luffy turned to Nami and swept her up into his arms, and staring straight into her eyes said, "Well you of course! You are MY navigator and now you're my Pirate Queen!" Nami gasped and then a smile spread across her face and she smashed her lips onto Luffy's, kissing him with more passion than their previous one. Luffy reciprocated with as much passion as Nami, pulling her to him so that they were flush with each other. The moment was ruined however when Luffy's body gave out and he fell to the ground clutching his stomach. "ARGH! Oh God that fucking hurts! I hope Sanji hurries up! I need to eat something!" he said through gritted teeth. Nami crouched down beside him and rubbed his back, trying to make him feel better. The rest of the crew looked on with fond expressions as they saw how close the two were already.

Sanji came out of the kitchen a few minutes later and said, "It's ready! Come and get it!" before going back inside. Luffy looked up at Nami and said, "Can you help me? I don't think I can get there on my own. I'm not sure I can even stand up on my own at this point." Nami quickly wrapped Luffy's arm over her shoulders and helped him stand up. They walked slowly since Luffy's body was having trouble moving the way he wanted it to. After a few minutes they got to the kitchen and Nami set Luffy down in his usual seat. She sat down next to him and looked at him with worried eyes as she really took in his appearance. His stomach was sucked in and his skin was pale and sickly. His eyes held a look of a predator on the verge of starvation searching for something to sate his gnawing hunger. Sanji walked up to him and set down a heaping plate of various meats but cautioned him to take it slowly. Luffy nodded and grabbed the closest piece to him, taking a massive bite out of it. As soon as he swallowed it looked as though a reaction was happening to him. A pulse went out from his body and his skin suddenly turned a healthier hue. His eyes and stomach cam out slightly and before anyone could even comment on it, Luffy growled out and pounced on the mountain of meat. Within seconds the food was gone and Luffy's stomach was bulged out to an extreme level. As the crew watched his stomach rapidly receded and a larger pulse came out from him as suddenly his body exploded outward, leaving his skin back to its normal hue and his muscles all became redefined. His eyes went back to the wide childlike look they had before and he looked as though he had woken up from a thousand-year slumber. "AH! That feels so much better! I forgot what it felt like to be in top shape. Thanks Sanji!" All Sanji did was look away and say, "Don't thank me. Not after what happened." Luffy turned on him in a second, stomped over to him and grabbed the front of his shirt roughly. "You dumbass! I thought you learned the lesson! I did what I did for the good of the crew! It was my decision and I stand by it! So stop acting all fucking depressed and get a grip! Son of a bitch!" he shouted in Sanji's face glaring straight into his eyes, fury written all over his face. Sanji was so surprised he just stood there for a minute before he sagged in Luffy's grip. "Alright Luffy. Whatever you say. But I still don't like it. I just feel like this is all my fault. I was the one who suggested the punishment of not eating. Everyone else just went with it." At this point Luffy looked like he was going to explode. "YOU...YOU FUCKING IDIOT! GODDAMNIT SANJI! STOP BLAMING YOURSELF! EVERYTHING'S FINE NOW SO JUST STOP IT RIGHT NOW! I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANY OF YOU ACTING LIKE THIS! AM I UNDERSTOOD!? NOBODY IS TO BLAME THEMSELVES FOR THIS! SO GET OVER IT!" he shouted. The crew stared at him with wide eyes before nodding. "Good. Now then I am extremely tired so I'm going to go lay down." he said calmly. Nami stood up as well and said, "Me too. Because of that dream last night and worrying about you I barely slept." Luffy looked solemn at her and nodded his head. They left the room together leaving the rest of the crew to whatever they were planning to do that day.

(AN: The next part is why this is M-rated so be warned. This is the first time I have written anything like this so I'm sorry if it sucks. I did my best.)

Outside the kitchen Luffy turned to Nami and said, "This sucks. I don't want to leave you so soon after we finally got together." Nami blushed and said, "Do you want to sleep in my room?" Luffy grinned at her and nodded saying, "That sounds great. You know I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying this but I love you." Nami's blush deepened as she pulled him close to her and whispered into his lips, "I love you too." before kissing him. The kiss deepened as they backed slowly toward the woman's quarters and as they reached the room Nami broke the kiss and turned to open the door. As she was opening it she felt Luffy begin kissing his was from her shoulder up to her neck. It sent shivers down her spine and before he could react she turned back around and grabbed him roughly, pulling him into the room with her. She closed and locked the door and pulled Luffy to her mouth kissing him with vigor. She backed him up to her bed and fell onto it with him on the bottom. She continued to kiss him as she roamed her hands all over his chest feeling all of his muscles. He in turn, had reached his hands up and was gripping her waist as if he was unsure he wanted to go any higher. "It's alright Luffy. Touch wherever you want. I've wanted to do this for a long time." Nami told him quietly. Luffy nodded and swiftly moved his hands up and wrapped them around her breasts. "Oh! That feels good Luffy!" Nami moaned out. Encouraged by this Luffy reached down and pulled Nami's shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. Nami reached behind herself and unhooked her bra so he could get to her breasts without any restrictions. Luffy practically jumped at the opportunity and wrapped his lips around her right nipples and sucked hard. "AHH! How do you know how to do this so well? Aren't you a virgin?" Luffy released Nami's nipple and said, "Yeah I am but I don't know I just, well know what to do." With that he put his mouth to her left nipple this time and resumed his ministrations. 'No way! Does that mean he's going entirely on instinct? If so then damn his instincts are fucking good!' she thought as he suddenly brushed his tongue over her nipple and his right hand squeezed her right nipple. She could feel his left hand begin to go lower and finger the hem of her pants. Nami reached down and pulled Luffy away from her chest. "It's my turn to make you moan." she said in a voice full of lust.

She made her way down to his pants and unbuttoned them, then pulled them down in one swift motion. Nami was quite surprised to see how well equipped Luffy was down there. Nami had nothing to judge it on except anything she'd ever read in a book because much like Luffy, she was a virgin. She also didn't have the instincts he had. But she put that aside and reached forward, wrapping her hand around his dick and began to stroke him. After a few motions she bent down and took the head of his dick into her mouth. "AH! Nami! That feels great!" Luffy shouted out. Nami hummed in response not willing to let go of her newfound treasure. Slowly Nami continued to take more and more of Luffy's member into her mouth until she had reached about 3/4 of the way to the base, finding she couldn't take anymore of it. By this point Luffy had been reduced to a pile of moans and rapid breaths as he was not used to this amount of raw pleasure. Before long he began to feel something building inside himself. "Nami, something's happening! I feel weird!" he said in a worried voice. Nami's only response was to continue bobbing her head on Luffy's cock and hum. Luffy felt like something was about to explode out of him and as he felt the breaking point approach he gave into his instincts again and grabbed Nami's head thrusting into her mouth. After another few seconds he exploded into her mouth, giving her no choice but to swallow as he kept thrusting. She didn't exactly mind though since this is what she wanted anyway. Luffy pulled his pulsing rod out of Nami's mouth and sat back down on the bed. He hadn't realized he had stood up. Nami wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Luffy's eyes narrowed and he reached down, pulling her up onto the bed and crawling over her. He looked her straight in the eyes and said in a husky voice, "I think it's my turn to please you again."

His had slid down into her pants and past her underwear. Nami gasped out in surprise as a finger slid into her. "Oh God Luffy!" she moaned out. Luffy grinned and pulled his hand out of her pants. Nami looked slightly angry before she realized that he was pulling off her pants. Once he got them off Luffy bent down until he was facing Nami's dripping wet pussy. Nami wondered what he was planning but all thought soon vanished from her mind as Luffy pushed his head forward and wrapped his mouth around her cunt. "AHHH! FUCK! KEEP GOING LUFFY!" she shouted out in pure ecstasy. Luffy hummed into her pussy and then sent his tongue forward and into her folds. Before she could even react he elongated it until it brushed up against Nami's hymen. Luffy didn't even think about it and just began to twist his tongue around everywhere inside Nami. Nami could no longer even form words as Luffy pleasured her. 'Damn at this rate I'm going to cum before we even get to the last part.' she finally thought. Unfortunately for her Luffy was determined to make Nami feel what he felt so he continued his ministrations and showed no signs of stopping. 'Oh god here it comes! I can't take it anymore!' she thought but out loud she shouted, "Keep going, I'm almost there!" Luffy didn't even pay her any mind as he coiled his tongue into her. "LUUUUUFFFFFFFFFFFFYYYYY!" Nami screamed as she came hard, her juices splattering all over Luffy's face. The man himself didn't mind as he thought Nami's juices were quite sweet. As he licked off her juices from his face, He looked down at Nami. She looked so sexy sprawled out on the bed basking in the afterglow of her orgasm. Nami looked up and said, "Alright now Luffy. It's time for both of us to get what we want." she said as she gripped his stiffened cock and positioned it at he entrance.

"Just go slow. You're my first." she said as she blushed a deep red. Luffy nodded and said, "Then I'm glad I got to take you first Nami." Nami gasped as his cock entered her. Inch by inch he pushed in until the last barrier was all that was in his way. "Are you ready?" he asked gently. Nami merely nodded and he pulled out slightly before slamming back into her and breaking her hymen in one swift motion. Just as Nami was about to cry out Luffy leaned down and captured her lips taking the scream into himself. After about a minute Nami broke the kiss and said, "Okay you can move now. It doesn't hurt anymore." Luffy nodded and began to thrust into her slowly. "Faster!" Nami screamed out and Luffy obeyed quickly thrusting into her with greater speed. They matched each other's thrusts and were in complete ecstasy when Luffy had a thought. 'What if I go even faster and harder?' He grinned at this thought and picked up his pace, slamming into her even quicker. He elongated his cock to get her to feel even more and she cried out, "Oh God Luffy faster, faster!" At this point Luffy was going so fast he was almost a blur but realized there was a way to go faster. He stopped completely and looked down at the woman underneath him. Nami was quite pissed he stopped and was about to yell at him when she heard two words that would change her entire day. "Gear Second." Luffy said quietly. 'Oh God this is gonna feel amazing' she thought as he began to thrust again. He started of slow again but rapidly picked up the pace until his body has a blur and he was pounding into Nami mercilessly. "OH GOD THAT FEELS SO FUCKING GOOD LUFFY! KEEP GOING! FUCK ME HARDER!" Nami shouted at him. Luffy slammed harder and harder until he was afraid he was going to break her if he pounded any harder. "NAMI! I FEEL WEIRD AGAIN!" he cried out to her and she responded with, "ME TOO JUST KEEP GOING!" Luffy continued to slam into her until both of them reached their climax with Luffy slamming into her one final time and releasing his load into her while she came so hard it drenched her sheets in cum.

Luffy fell down on top of Nami, but carefully so he didn't crush her. Nami reached down and pulled out her cover from underneath them then threw it around Luffy and herself. "Thank you Luffy. For always being there." she said quietly as she began drifting off to sleep. "Shishishishishi! You don't have to thank me. I will never leave your side." he said as blackness claimed them both.

"Well. That was interesting." Ussop said as he stared off into the distance. Unfortunately the crew had to sit there and listen to Luffy and Nami as they... enjoyed their relationship. "Oh come on guys it wasn't that bad." Robin said calmly. Everyone except Zoro turned to her and gave her looks that spoke volumes about their disbelief. Franky chuckled and said, "Well good for them. Mugiwara and Nami-sis have always been close in my opinion. Although I still might get something to sound proof the rooms. I really don't feel like hearing that all the time." Robin giggled behind her hand and glanced back at Zoro. 'Hmmmm...' she thought wondering if the swordsman had any feelings toward her. She definitely had some towards him and now that Nami and Luffy were together she had suddenly felt the urge to feel the same way. Not just the sex part but everything about the relationship. She wanted to love and be loved by a man and she thought Zoro was perfect. She suspected that he did have feelings for her because he was constantly watching her. She could feel his eyes boring into her all the time. "Hey Zoro..."

Ah it's finished! This took me a long time to write and I wanted to get it perfect. As I said before the sex scene, I had never written anything like that and I wasn't sure how well it would come out. Hopefully this fic satisfied your expectations and I'll see you all later. Oh and I'm still working on Strawhat Scientist and have a few more story ideas written down that I want to make so expect more of me and my OC Connor in the future!


End file.
